Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has written about the difference a bishop made in his life when he was 11 years old.
“My bishop invited me in for an interview and taught me how to prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and be ordained a deacon,” Elder Soares said in 2005. “As the interview was coming to an end, he pulled out a set of forms from his desk and challenged me to fill them out. They were mission call papers. I was astonished.”
That bishop had a big picture in mind, and he shared that vision with Elder Soares at an early age.
What happened next? Elder Soares explained that in the intervening years, “He showed he really cared about me. He told me the steps I should take to prepare both spiritually and financially to serve the Lord. ... Then the bishop who was called after him interviewed me at least twice a year until I was 19 and encouraged me to remain faithful in my preparation. They kept my missionary forms in my file and mentioned them whenever we had an interview.”
With help from his parents and these wise bishops, Elder Soares did serve a mission, and that changed the course of his life forever.
These bishops made a difference. Here are three things every bishop can do to make a similar difference for young people in his stewardship.
1. Clarify responsibilities
When calling advisers and specialists to serve with the youth, communicate tasks. This will allow people to feel empowered to act without waiting around for the bishop to tell them what to do each week.
For example, call one adviser to oversee weeknight activities, another to work with a quorum presidency and attend those presidency meetings, another to be over instruction and another to make sure the sacrament is ready each week. Call a specialist to make sure young people are registered for FSY and that they have the pre- and post-conference experiences that enhance beyond the week they attend. Call another specialist over camps and overnighters.
In larger wards, call an assistant ward executive secretary to coordinate everything having to do with the youth. He should help schedule and attend ward youth council, schedule regular interviews and take care of other administrative tasks so the bishop can focus on building relationships with the youth, young single adults and children of his ward.
2. Meet regularly with the Young Women president
One task that should not be delegated is coordinating with the Young Women president and her presidency. Everything will run much smoother if there is a set time for them to meet and communicate concerns, plans and needs. They will meet in ward council and ward youth council, but there should also be other scheduled times when they can make sure they are on the same page when it comes to the progress of the youth and building relationships with them.
3. Ensure continuity of care
Medical professionals know that it helps patients when they are cared for by the same people and don’t see a new face and have to start from square one each time they show up at the office or clinic.
Two-hour church has been a blessing, but it has also created a small problem as youth don’t always see the same leaders and teachers each week. It makes it easy for them to get lost or not be “seen.” Depending on bishop’s schedule, youth can go an entire month without a personal greeting from their bishop or other leaders. Discuss this concern in ward council. Seek inspiration in your circumstances. Perhaps those teaching youth Sunday classes should not rotate each month. It is good for youth to have lessons from the same instructors.
Perhaps on weeks when Young Women classes and priesthood quorums meet, the bishop could greet the boys as they gather and then sit in on a class with the girls or vice versa. Maybe on Sunday School weeks the bishop could sit in with a class or at least greet youth as they come or leave their classrooms.
One of the things that keeps young people strong and motivated to come to Church are relationships — not just with their peers, but with loving and caring adults, including the bishop. Connections — even greetings — each week foster those positive relationships.
